Tom Rice does not support Georgetown steelworkers.
ArcelorMittal - Georgetown will be laying off 20 workers, not filling 20 empty positions and have a work curtailment.
These workers are affected by our trade deals. Tom Rice supports such trade deals that allow our jobs to be lost.
More, Tom Rice would support the elimination of Trade Adjustment Assistance. For Georgetown steelworkers, this is a program they are all too familiar with.
Republicans worked to eliminate the program in 2011. More.
“This represents the best of federal programs at making America globally competitive,” Andy Levin, the acting director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, told The Charlotte Observer. “It says to our people that lose their jobs, ‘You’re not refuse. We’re not kicking you to the curb. We want you to jump into school, get some new skills and get back in the game.’”
Many Republicans, especially those swept into power by the Tea Party, do not see things that way, however. To them, the program, which costs about $2.4 billion annually, is a waste of taxpayer money and yet another case of government overreaching into the economy. That sentiment is backed by some of the most rabidly pro-free trade business interests in the Republican Party.
Tom Rice would work to do the same.
Think about it.
What would you have done without TAA when we needed it the most? How about if it wasn't there?
Our friends are experiencing this again. It's not right to be a steelworker and vote for a person hell bent on taking away programs you rely on when you need it.